Offshore Workers

North Sea workers have won an extra 14 days of paid holiday in a tribunal held in Aberdeen, according to a report on www.EnergyCurrent.com. The Offshore Industry Liaison Committee (OILC) and Unite sited the European Union working time directive in the bid to get more vacation for 10,000 offshore workers, including those in subsea, drilling and catering. In a 150-page ruling, the current 26 week field break was deemed compensatory rest for time workers could not take while offshore. (Source: www.EnergyCurrent.com)

High pressure gas leak from North Sea oil rig off coast of Scotland – union expresses safety concerns about gas cloud
Oil and gas union leaders have called for all platforms within a five-mile radius to be evacuated after fears the gas cloud may be travelling in their direction, according to a report in Scottish local newspaper 'The Press and Journal'
As a direct result of the risk the gas leak poses to its staff on nearby platforms

Lifeboat and davit manufacturer, Schat-Harding, has completed the first freefall drop with its new design of lifeboat for the offshore sector, the FF1200.
Schat-Harding CEO Ove Roessland said, “We were acutely aware that, in order to satisfy regulations applying to the Norwegian offshore sector, it was necessary to design a completely new lifeboat. Now, after several years of research and development, and the successful completion of high-scale module testing

Offshore rig workers to big shipping and yacht to cruise enthusiasts are always looking for new gadgets to enlighten their daily lives.
How about this for innovation. Our Electronic Toilet washes and dries you within minutes without needing toilet paper ever again. Yes, you heard right, E’LOO electronic toilets popularity among the elite yacht population is growing by leaps and bounds and is crossing over to the offshore industry.

As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above approach to domestic energy development, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Director James Watson today announced the Bureau is taking steps to establish an independent Ocean Energy Safety Institute (Institute) to further enhance safe and responsible operations across the offshore oil and gas industry.
The Institute will provide a forum for dialogue, shared learning and cooperative research among academia, government

More workers in Norway's oil sector walked out of wage talks on Wednesday, sending the dispute to a state mediator and raising the prospect of a repeat of a 2012 strike.
Workers who operate onshore supply bases broke off talks, joining platform oil workers and oil service employees in breaking off wage negotiations, the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association, the energy companies' interest group, and trade union Industri Energi said.

Norwegian Shipowners' Association (NSA) has given notice of a secondary
lockout affecting workers on 94 offshore service vessels and shuttle tankers on the Norwegian continental shelf. The Association is also escalating the
lockout of members of the Federation of Oil Workers' Trade Unions (OSF),
encompassing members that so far have remained outside the current dispute.
The impact of this secondary lockout, which comes into force from midnight,

According to a report from CBC News, workers at the largest field in Newfoundland and Labrador's offshore oil industry have accepted a new contract. Hibernia workers on Friday, Nov. 5, ratified a new contract that includes pay raises, shift differentials and improvements in scheduling leave
(Source: CBC News)

ASV introduced C-Worker, a multiuse offshore unmanned surface vehicle developed to conduct subsea positioning, surveying and environmental monitoring for oil and gas operations.
C-Worker was demonstrated to members of the oil and gas and offshore surveying industries in January 2014 when ASV, alongside sister company C&C Technologies operated the vehicle in the Solent off Portsmouth, U.K. Fitted with a Sonardyne Gyro USBL acoustic positioning system

An explosion aboard a BW Offshore's oil and gas production vessel in Brazil has killed five people and four workers are still missing, the firm said in a statement on Thursday.
The floating production storage and offloading vessel, working for Petrobras suffered an explosion on Wednesday, which also injured ten workers, two of whom are in critical condition.
BW Offshore has shut down the vessel and all personnel have been taken off the unit.

ISS GMT offers guidance to marine and offshore workers on Philippines’ International Passenger Service Charge
ISS GMT Manila has issued clarification in respect of a change to the procedure for the collection of the International Passenger Service Charge which was introduced

Port and dock workers in India are planning to go on an indefinite strike starting March 16th – they are protesting the government’s move to corporatize major ports.
The original decision by workers to go on an indefinite strike from March 9 has been tentatively

The Port and Dock Workers Federation (AITUC) has decided to defer the strike proposed from March 16, in view of the Central Labour Commissioner appointing a committee to study the demands and grievances of workers and employees of major ports.

The global offshore accommodation market has seen significant growth over the past five years, with PoB requirements increasing by 27% between 2009 and 2014. Although the recent oil price decline has negatively impacted the accommodation market to some extent

Over 200 workers at Chile's San Antonio port remain on strike and workers at other ports have said they would not unload San Antonio port operator Puerto Central ships.
Over 200 workers at Chile's San Antonio port remain on strike with workers at other ports saying they will not

The growth trend continues in the Brazilian shipbuilding industry, a trend that has been relatively constant during the last five year. While shipbuilding is ‘ship shape,’ the reality of the Brazilian ship repair industry is somewhat muddled

With just a week of bargaining left until the national contract for U.S. refinery workers expires, the United Steelworkers union (USW) said talks with oil company representatives for a new pact were going slow, according to a Twitter message sent to members.

Workers represented by the Building Trades Unions will return to Marathon Petroleum Corp's refinery in Catlettsburg, Kentucky on Monday, even as a strike by the United Steelworkers drags into a second week, documents obtained by Reuters show.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc and the United Steelworkers union (USW) negotiated for hours on Tuesday over a new labor contract for U.S. refinery workers, the company said on day 10 of the biggest refinery walkout since 1980.
They have been unable to agree since this year's talks started on Jan

At least three oil workers were killed and others were injured in an explosion on Wednesday at an offshore oil and natural gas platform in Brazil operated by state-run energy company Petroleo Brasileiro SA , union officials said.
The workers were killed in an explosion aboard the Cidade de

U.S. oil refinery managers are going to the mats, literally, during the biggest fight with union workers in 35 years, bedding down for a third strike week that experts and some employees say raises concerns over safety and operations.
At the 135,000 barrel-per-day refinery just outside of Toledo

Leading the way for client representative training in offshore renewables industry .
An operational offshore energy course, providing training in the running and delivery of offshore renewables projects, has received industry recognition from the Renewables Training Network (RTN).

OCHA, the training center for dock workers in the port of Antwerp, will collaborate with APEC-Antwerp/Flanders Port Training Center to organise joint courses for dock workers and operators from ports in other countries. The new courses will meet the growing demand for specialist training

The largest U.S. refinery strike in 35 years entered its fourth week on Sunday as workers at 12 refineries accounting for one-fifth of national production capacity were walking picket lines.
Sources familiar with the negotiations said talks may resume by mid-week to end the walkout by 6